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“He would have killed you,” Zach said, turning to me. His arms went around me, pulling me against his chest. I could feel his hammering heart and knew mine was going just as fast from fear and adrenaline—but in that moment, all that mattered to me was that I’d survived.
“You stopped him,” I said. I’d hurt Dale, but I had no illusions about what would have happened if Zach hadn’t come in at that moment. I owed him my life.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Zach whispered into my hair, “for last night and this morning.”
“Shhh, we’ll talk later. Just hold me.” His arms tightened around me, and we stood together until brakes squealed on the street and a man ran into the store.
“Shit, you got all the fun.” Alex assessed the situation, looking from us to the prone man.
“Call the police,” Zach said to Alex, “and let Colin know he can stand down.” He loosened his hold on me, touching my face before stepping away. “I’m coming home with you tonight.”
“I’m not arguing,” I said, not wanting it any other way.
Hours passed as I retold my story to the police, filling in the details of what Dale Huntly had done to my business. My mother and sister arrived to comfort me and corroborate details of the story. Through it all, Zach stayed by me. Finally, we were home, with Austin in bed, thanks again to Zach’s family.
“Let me,” Zach said, taking the ice pack from me and holding it to my jaw. He sat on the coffee table, facing me. “It’s still going to hurt in the morning.”
“It’s okay. The satisfaction of taking him down was worth one punch.” Not to mention, an aching jaw was way better than what I would have gotten if Zach hadn’t arrived when he did.
“Not to me. I should never have let you get in that situation.”
“You couldn’t have stopped it, Zach.” I’d replayed the scenario, recognizing that I should have been more aware of my surroundings but knowing that Huntly was going to come at me no matter what.
“I could have, by sticking with you when we knew you were in danger,” he argued.
“No one knew he’d pick today to attack.”
“After the fire…I should have?—”
“Stop blaming yourself,” I declared.
“I’m so sorry about our fight. I shouldn’t have pulled away from you like that. I was so scared for you…but that’s no excuse.”
“No, it’s not,” I agreed, “but I do understand where you were coming from. You were right to remind me that my first priority should have been to come home to Austin, not to go chasing after someone who wanted to kill me. I just…” I struggled for the words to say what I needed to say. “I’ve been trying so hard to be strong, ever since I found out I was pregnant. I needed to be tough enough to handle being a single mom, running a business, keeping everything on track. And then you came back and said that we could handle things together, that I didn’t have to do everything on my own—and that was everything I wanted to hear, but…”
“But?”
“I couldn’t bring myself to trust it. I was too afraid, just like when I broke our engagement. I let you down because of my fears. Back then, I was so scared you wouldn’t come back from a mission that I felt I needed to put distance between us. I guess I preempted the risk of you abandoning me—even if it wasn’t your fault—by breaking it off with you. It seems so silly now. We could have had that time together.”
I remembered how I’d felt then, so justified in my actions and not thinking about what it did to him. When he didn’t respond to my messages about the coming baby, I’d been sure I’d done the right thing. How wrong I’d been.
“We can’t change what happened,” Zach said, taking my hand, “and I’m done being controlled by the past.”
Dale Huntly had been all the proof I’d ever need of the danger of letting the past rule your life. The past could be toxic. “We have to let it go and be in the present.”
“The present isn’t enough,” Zach said quickly. “I love you, Carolyn. I never stopped in all the time I was away. I was angry with you, but I couldn’t help loving you. Now, though, the love I feel…when I thought I might lose you today…I never want to spend another day without you in my life.”
If I could have planned what I wanted to hear from him, it would have been those words. I smiled at him and scooted forward on the couch until our knees were touching. “I love you, too. I tried hard not to when I thought you were ignoring your son and me. Now, I know you’d never do that. You’d never let your family down.”
“I’ll never let you or Austin down.” He said it as though it were a pledge, and I believed him.
“Let’s go to bed, Zach.” More quickly than I would have thought possible, he stood and lifted me in his arms.
“Are you going to carry me up the stairs?” I asked, delighted by his actions.
“Are you objecting?” He walked toward the steps. “I don’t want to get on your bad side. I’ve seen what you can do to a man,” he teased.
“No objection.” I put my arms around his neck and kissed him, not stopping until we reached my bedroom. “You are one talented man to kiss me and still be able to climb the stairs.”
